Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Merry Christmas, from Slovenian beat-maestro Gramatik a.k.a. Denis Jasarevic!At least I assume that was his message when he released Exmag's new album, Proportions, three days ago. The group, as well as Gramatik himself, includes Eric Mendelson, Tyler Dondero, Mike Iannatto, ILLUMINTR a.k.a. Bryn Bellomy. A seamless fusion of jazz, blues, funk, soul and electronic (and probably more), it's the ultimate feel-good formula to inject rhythm into even the cloudiest of days. The interlude 'Glasper The Friendly Ghost' makes it clear that the project's influences lie where there is only brilliance to be found, and '#SuperNicer' takes synth bending to a new level of jazzy. 'NuFunk Odyssey' is a personal favourite so far, with an infectious beat textured by syncopated funk licks on the bass and sassy electric guitar riffs. In fact, the whole album is downright SASSY.
Take a listen to the whole album on SoundCloud and I guarantee your Christmas will be at least 50% more merry that it would have been before: